Wet conditions at harvest inevitably result in a mess, as heavy combines and grain carts leave their mark in the soft soil. With above normal rainfall extending into harvest in parts of Western Canada, we’re seeing some deep ruts and serious compaction from harvest equipment. “That wheel traffic compaction can go as deep as three… Read More
Category: Cover crops
Harvest is rolling along in many areas of the province, including the first reported grain corn coming off earlier this week. This week, RealAgriculture’s Peter Johnson tackles your toughest questions on troubled corn, late hay, and wheat variety selection in this September 7th edition of Wheat Pete’s Word. (Highlights below). Listen or download below! And of… Read More
Cover crops have long been touted for their ability to help maintain soil health, control erosion, reduce nutrient loss and improve soil fertility. But could they put grain and oilseed crops at risk by playing host to disease and pests? That’s a question OMAFRA field pathologist Albert Tenuta is trying to answer. In this video,… Read More
The drought continues to take a toll on corn and soybeans with nutrient deficiencies showing up. There’s nothing that can be done about the lack of rain, but there are some management opportunities for future years, explains Peter Johnson on this week’s Word. He also outlines three steps that need to be taken after wheat harvest… Read More
If a corn plant emerges one, two or three days after its neighbour, will it yield less? Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson is determined to find out. At the SouthWest Ag Conference last January, National Corn Growers Association yield contest champion Randy Dowdy challenged growers to plant a flag test on their farm to… Read More
Early fungicide timing in wheat, varietal interactions with Group 14 soil-applied herbicides and how to prevent lodging in oats — it was almost a record-breaking week in terms of feedback after last week’s Word. Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAg, returns to answer questions and share his agronomic insight as we get into the month of… Read More
When farmers search for ways to better manage cover crops, seed treatments such as neonicotinoids don’t readily come to mind. But that could change if research results from University of Guelph weed scientist Dr. Clarence Swanton are proven in field tests. In this episode of Corn School, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson sits down with… Read More
In this episode of the Corn School, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson goes cover crop crazy. Standing in a residue-covered cornfield, Johnson sounds off on growers who insist on chopping corn stalks: “What a labour intensive, fuel expensive, ridiculous thing to do – it makes no sense whatsoever.” What makes better sense for growers,… Read More
Ontario Farmers are turning out in force to participate in the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (GLASI). “We’ve had incredible response to GLASI in the targeted areas,” says Margaret May, regional program lead with Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, which administers the program. Interest and attendance at program meetings has been strong, she adds…. Read More
Pierceton, Illinois farmer Jamie Scott has been preaching the gospel of cover crops for 10 years. At the recent Innovative Farmers of Ontario annual meeting in London, Scott described how his father was his first and toughest convert. When he told Jim Scott that his idea to plant cover crops on their farm would cost… Read More
In this week’s Word, Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture and host of this weekly podcast, shares highlights from the FarmSmart and YieldSmart conferences, Ag Days in Brandon, as well as answers to several specific questions on thin wheat stands, manure management, under-seeding with red clover and more. Have a question for Wheat Pete? Call 1-888-746-3311, send… Read More
On this week’s Word, Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture and host of this weekly podcast, gets into the hows and whys of reducing phosphorus losses, managing this year’s wheat crop, and tillage on manure. Have a question for Wheat Pete? Call 1-888-746-3311, send him a tweet (@wheatpete), or email him at [email protected] Highlights: Ag needs to figure out… Read More
Real Agriculture’s resident agronomist Peter Johnson has found yet another reason to grow wheat. In this episode of Wheat School, our intrepid WheatPete turns reporter as he interviews Dr. Tom Bruulsema, the International Plant Nutrition Institute’s Phosphorus Program Director, on how farmers can better manage phosphorus application by including wheat in the rotation. Bruulsema notes… Read More
The Pathfinder from Salford Group is a versatile, steerable cart designed to travel behind anything from a strip till bar to a planter or tillage tool. It’s also designed to carry multiple fertilizer application systems. Salford product manager Brad Baker explains the PathFinder is equipped with a steerable undercarriage that can be adjusted from 120… Read More
Wow, what a fall. The warm, dry weather has been great for Ontario’s wheat crop, as Peter Johnson (aka “Wheat Pete”) highlights in this week’s Word. From there, our resident agronomist at RealAg gets into high input corn yield results, late nitrogen application in corn, N credits from clover and pricing dairy silage on feed… Read More